Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday directed the Ministry of Petroleum to launch a crackdown against illegal gas connections immediately and also take stern action against the employees of gas companies who are complicit in the gas theft.
Chairing a meeting regarding stoppage of gas losses, the prime minister expressed concerns over the gas pilferage and any possible mishap as a result of stealing gas from the main lines. He said the burden of losses in the gas system together with administrative negligence is being transferred to the consumers, which results in rise in gas prices. The prime minister while rejecting putting the burden of flaws in the system on the consumers, directed the authorities concerned to make every possible effort to control the losses.
The prime minister was told that there is approximately 11 percent unaccounted-for gas in the system of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) and 16 percent in the Sui Southern Gas Company’s (SSGC), and its total value is around Rs 45 billion. Gas theft, leakages and other flaws are the reasons of those losses.
The prime minister was informed that Rs 19 billion is lost under the head of theft and Rs 11.25 billion in leakages while Rs 14.50 billion losses are incurred due to annual loss and other reasons.
The petroleum secretary briefed the meeting about the steps taken to control unaccounted-for gas.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Asad Umar, Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, secretaries of finance and petroleum, managing directors of SNGPL and SSGC, and other officials.
